


A Rose By Any Other Name

by snufflyphoenix



Category: The Musketeers (2014)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Pillow Talk, post series 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-17 13:36:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8145995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snufflyphoenix/pseuds/snufflyphoenix
Summary: "You don't have to call me Your Majesty, you know."
Anne would like Aramis to stop addressing her so formally when they're in private and call her by her first name. Aramis struggles to get his head around it.





	

“You don’t have to call me Your Majesty, you know.” 

“Hm?”

“In private. You don’t have to call me Your Majesty when it’s just us.” Anne rolled onto her side and pillowed her head on the crook of her arm. She smiled warmly at Aramis. “I think we’re past that, don’t you?” 

Aramis marked the page in his book and set it aside before turning to face her. “What would you have me call you?”

“My name?” She suggested, her tone amused. 

“Wouldn’t that be improper?” He furrowed his brow slightly. He had only been living at the palace for a month and being able to be around her and his son often and without fear was still taking some getting used to. Before he’d taken this post he had thought his manners were excellent, but royalty and the aristocracy have standards all of their own and he had made enough carefully covered missteps to be cautious. 

“I wasn’t aware propriety was such an important matter to you, monsieur.” Anne teased, running her fingers up his arm as she moved closer. “Or should I start calling you First Minister even when we’re alone?” 

“I’d rather you continue to call me Aramis.” He said with a smile, laying an arm across her waist.

“Of course you would, it would be bizarre for me to do otherwise.” Anne replied, resting her hand on the side of his neck as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “So why not call me by my name?”

“It would feel odd.”

“How so?”

“You’ve always been Your Majesty to me.” 

“Could you try?”

“Of course I can...” He trailed off. 

“But?” Anne frowned slightly at him.

Aramis sighed quietly, diverting his gaze a moment before once again meeting her eyes. “You must understand that this.. Everything about this is new to me. The new lodgings, the people, the clothes, the way I have to behave, the fact that it’s my opinion and approval that people seek and that that opinion is one with a lot of weight. But I still feel like a musketeer. I still feel like a soldier, and I was a soldier when I first met you.”

Anne’s frown grew in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“When you were distributing money to the freed prisoners and there was a prison break, I protected you as a soldier because you were my queen. When you gave me your necklace, I accepted it as a soldier because you were my queen. When we took you to the waters at Bourbon-les-eaux and the Cardinal sent an assassin, I protected you again as a soldier because-”

“And that night in the convent.” Anne’s voice soft as she looked at him. “Who did you make love to? Me or the queen?” 

Aramis smiled slightly at her and the arm around her waist squeezed her briefly. “You.”

“And I to Aramis, not Chevalier D’Herblay.” Anne moved her hand to his cheek and ran her thumb across his cheekbone. “When we fell in love, it wasn’t about politics or titles. I fell in love with you because you care so deeply about everyone, and because you’re kind and intelligent, and because you respect me as a person and not as the queen. I didn’t fall for you because of your dashing swordsmanship and marksmanship.” 

“I fell in love with you for your grace and beauty.” Aramis turned his head slightly and pressed a light kiss to the pad of her thumb. “And as I grew to know you, I fell in love with your generosity and your skill at handling whatever life throws at you with poise and elegance. You’re a remarkable woman.”

“A remarkable woman whose name is Ana María Mauricia.” She said with a fond smile and leant in to kiss him. 

“It suits you.” He kissed back, planting a light kiss on her nose as he pulled away. He laughed as she scrunched up her nose in response. Now it was his turn to tease. “Such grace and beauty doth my queen exhibit.”

“And my First Minister is awfully stubborn.” She laughed happily as he rolled onto his back and pulled her with him. Cushioning his chest from her chin with her hands, she looked at him with a grin that he returned. “I remind you that that is what you are now. While I may be the queen, you are one of the most powerful men in France and we are, to most intents and purposes, equal. You must begin to remember that.” 

“I have been a soldier much longer than I have been a politician.” He pointed out, shifting slightly on the pillows so he wasn’t straining his neck to meet her eyes. 

“And I will love you for longer still.” She told him, tracing a pattern on his chest through his shirt with her index finger. “Isn’t that what we promised each other?”

“Of course. And I love you as more than just the Queen Regent.”

“So…?” She trailed off, dimpling at him as she tilted her head coyly.

Aramis sighed in an exaggerated fashion and rolled his eyes before grinning and leaning to kiss her again. He knew when he had lost. “I love you, Ana María Mauricia, no matter how formally I address you.” 

Anne beamed at him and kissed him back. “Say it again?” 

He laughed warmly and rolled them back over so his forearms bracketed her head on the pillow. “Ana, you are the light of my life and I love you more than words can say.” 

“And I love you, Aramis.” She happily pulled him down for another kiss and bumped her nose against his as they parted. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” 

“It’s going to take some getting used to.” Much like every other change in his life, he thought to himself. He smiled softly at her. “You’ll have to forgive me if I slip.”

“Thank you.” She said earnestly, her arms around his neck. It meant a lot to her that he called her by name, and even more that he called her by her Spanish name. She never would have suggested it to Louis, he would have scoffed at the idea - she’s a French queen after all, he would have said, and would undoubtedly begin to question her loyalty. But Aramis was not Louis. Where Louis had been changeable and disregarded her when they weren’t in front of an audience, Aramis was safe and warm, and the most compassionate man she had ever met. She knew that he loved her, and truly loved her, and she returned his love in equal measure. He had given her her son and now they would raise him together. Things would never be perfect. They could never be open about their affection in public, and Louis could never know who his real father was, but this was the best outcome given the circumstances. 

The time she and Aramis had together may be limited to stolen moments during the day and quiet evenings away from prying eyes but at least they could have these moments where they could simply be in each other’s company. In public they were the Queen Regent and the First Minister, but in here they were Ana and Aramis, and that would be enough.

They kissed leisurely for a while before Aramis broke away to stifle a yawn and lay down next to her. “I thank God for that prison break sometimes. Otherwise you would never have known who I am.”

“I’m sure the escaped prisoners feel the same way.” She said wryly, looking at him. 

“Are you sure you didn’t fall for my dashing skills as a swordsman and marksman?” He teased.

“My darling, I believe on that occasion it was your tackling skills that won me over, not your dashing skills.” Anne rolled away from him with a grin, her smile widening more as she felt him wrap himself around her from behind.

“Ha ha.” He said dryly and pressed a light kiss to the back of her neck. “If you have grown tired of being Queen Regent, I’m sure there is an illustrious career ahead of you as the court fool.”

“I have my moments.” She closed her eyes to try to settle down, her smile soft on her lips. “Louis finds me hilarious.”

“He’s six years old.” Aramis replied sleepily and snuggled closer. “He was in hysterics over a funny shaped cloud the other day.” 

“It _was _a funny shaped cloud.” Anne laced their fingers together.__

__“I suppose it was.” He conceded, stifling another yawn as he closed his eyes too. They lay in silence for a moment before he spoke again. “Ana?”_ _

__“Mm?” She opened her eyes and turned her head to smile sleepily at him._ _

__“I love you.”_ _

__“I love you too.”_ _

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short snippet of Anne and Aramis being adorable and affectionate in bed. I love these two and was very happy with their ending in the show, so I wanted to examine how they would move forwards from their dynamic in previous series'. Thanks for reading!


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